K. Language Maintenance in

CanadaMihyon Jeon

York University

ContentKoreans in CanadaLanguage ecology and policy in CanadaStudy

Research question MethodParticipants Results

Conclusion

Koreans in Canada141,895 Koreans in 2006 (Statistics Canada)

Out of 5 million visible minorities (16.2 % )34% of Koreans came to Canada between 2000 and

2006 223,322 in 2009 (South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign

Affairs and Trade) Cf. 1.7 million (0.6% of American populations)

Koreans in Canada: Generational breakdown

KoreansFirst generation: over

90%Second generation:

8.3%Third generation: 0.8%

total population of ethnic origin

First generation: 23.9%Second generation:

15.6%Third generation: 60.5%

Language ecology of CanadaTwo official languages: English and French Breakdown of mother tongues speakers

58%: English 22%: French The remainder

Indigenous languages Heritage languages including Korean

Language policies Official Language Act of 1969

Made English and French Canada’s official languages Equality of status and equal rights and privileges

Cultural Enrichment Program (1977)Support for the teaching of non-official languages Public resistance to the establishment of heritage

language classes at public expense Some heritage language classes: partially publically

funded

Language maintenance and shiftlanguage shift within three generations (Fishman,

1989)Native language speaking first generationBilingual second generation Dominant language speaking third generation

Recent trend: language shift within two generations (Wiley, 2001)

Language shiftCommunication problems b/t parents and children Alienation of children from parentsLoss of language resources

Three factors of language maintenance Societal factor

Social institutions and mediaContact factor

Individuals’ daily interactions with language Interpersonal contact & non-interactive contact through

media

Attitudinal factor Individual beliefs about language: socially

constructed and shared

The study: Research question How do societal, contact and attitudinal factors

relate to Korean language maintenance/shift among Korean Canadians?

MethodsSurvey 137 second and 1.5 generation Korean Canadians

in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)50 born in Canada (out of 116)64 born in Korea; 2 in the third country

average length of stay in Canada: 10 years

3 undergraduate research assistants: as a focal point

Survey (1) English and Korean language proficiency (2) demographic details (3) use of Korean and English(4) media and literacy exposure (5) Korean language education (6) language attitudes toward Korean, English, and

bilingualism

Results: Korean and English proficiency Self-assessment of four skills of Korean & English:

5 point Likert scale How well do you speak Korean/English?1 for not well at all; 5 for very well

Cloze test A paragraph with ten blanks with four answer keys

for each question: one for Korean and the other for English

language proficiency: self assessment

KoreanListening: 3.94

(SD=1.096)Speaking: 3.37

(SD=1.270)Reading: 3.21

(SD=1.439)Writing: 2.93 (SD=1.29)

English Listening: 4.68

(SD=.564)Speaking: 4.58

(SD=.748)Reading: 4.58 (SD=.678)Writing: 4.25 (SD=.730)

Language proficiency: Cloze test

Korean2.20 (SD=2.495)

English 5.95 (SD=2.879)

Parental education level

Parents’ occupation

Parental education level and K. language proficiency the fathers’ education level showed a slightly

higher correlation with their children’s Korean language proficiency (Pearson correlation= .290, p < 0.01) than did the mothers’ education level (Pearson correlation = .248, p < 0.01).

Family language use & proficiency 7 point Likert scale

1 for exclusively English; 2 almost always English; 3 mostly English; 4 Korean and English equally; 5 mostly Korean; 6 almost always Korean; 7 exclusively Korean

Language use at home & Correlation b/t language use and Korean language proficiencyMost Korean with first born child; least with third

bornMostly English among sibling

Language use in other domains the domain of relatives: 4.53 (SD=2.04)Mostly English in other domains

church: 2.96 (SD=1.79) friends: 2.00 (SD=1.60)doctor’s office: 1.24 (SD=1.61) restaurant: 1.89 (SD=1.24)

Pattern of language shift from Korean to English

Media exposure

Media exposure and proficiency

Literacy practice

Literacy practice and proficiency

Media exposure & literacy practiceMore expose to English media than to Korean

mediaUse more English than Korean in literacy practice Strong correlation b/t Korean proficiency and

media exposure/literacy practice in Korean

Korean language education 71.3% (92 out of 129): their parents taught them

KoreanWhy?

Maintaining Korean ethnic identity Communication with family members Better job opportunities

Korean language education How?

Parents spoke to children in Korean (50%)Sent children to Korean language school (37%)Sent children to Korea (20%)Read to children in Korean (19.4%)

Effective?Yes

t (49.20)=2.211, p=0.032.

Korean language school54% (27 out of 50) 2nd generation 66.6% (14 out of 21) 1.5 generation Korean Canadians

who came to Canada before the age of 8 Average length of attendance: 3 years and 8 monthsAverage 1.7 days and 4.7 hours per weekTypes: 41 public schools, 13 non-profit organization, 22

religious organization (21 church; 1 Buddhist temple)Effective:

Yes t (79.844)=2.542, p=0.013

Language attitudes 5 point Likert scale: 1 for strongly disagree; 5 for

strongly agree 13 questions for Korean; 12 questions for English;

2 questions for bilingualism Results I: attitudes and correlation

Attitudes and Proficiency Korean

Comfort: p=.783, p <0.01

K as part of identity: p.555

K pride: p=.510beautiful language:

p=.434

EnglishComfort: p=.395, p

<0.01Better job: p=.290Academic success:

p=.243

Language attitudes and proficiencypositive attitudes toward both English and Korean

attitudes toward English (4.27) is slightly higher than Korean (3.71).

Relationship between attitudes toward Korean and Korean proficiency: particular strong and convincing

Relationship between attitudes toward English and English proficiency: weak

Attitudes and proficiencyComport in speaking English & Korean proficiency

Pearson correlation = -.371, p<0.01 English identity & Korean proficiency

Pearson correlation = -.280, p<0.01

Language use and language attitudesMother and children

First born: Pearson correlation = .402, p< 0.01 Second born: Pearson correlation = .396, p< 0.01 Third born: Pearson correlation = .702, p< 0.01

Father and children First born: Pearson correlation = .378, p< 0.01 Second born: Pearson correlation = .386, p< 0.01 Third born: Pearson correlation = .564, p< 0.01

Between siblingsFirst born and second born: Pearson correlation

= .645, p< 0.01)

Language use and language attitudesBetween siblings

First born and second born: Pearson correlation = .645, p< 0.01)

First born and third born: Pearson correlation = .693, p< 0.01

Between parents No significant effect on child’s language attitudes

Conclusion Pattern of language shift from Korean to EnglishOverwhelmingly strong correlation between

Korean language proficiency and;Korean language use in the family and in different

domains exposure to Korean media and literacy practices in

Korean Korean language education and attendance to

Korean language school Positive attitudes toward Korean